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Syrian forces capture key town near Lebanese border, says army ‘cleansed’ it of ‘terrorists’
The Syrian army triumphantly announced Wednesday the capture of a strategic town near the Lebanese border, telling the nation it has “cleansed” the rebel-held Qusair of “terrorists” fighting President Bashar Assad’s troops.
The capture of the town, which lies close to the Lebanese border, solidifies some of the regime’s recent gains on the ground that have shifted the balance of power in Assad’s favor in the Syrian civil war.
It comes just a day after France and Britain made back-to-back announcements that the nerve gas sarin was used in Syria’s conflict. A UN probe, also released Tuesday, said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect small-scale use of toxic chemicals in at least four attacks in March and April in Syria. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)
‘Eye for an eye’: Eating Syrian soldier’s heart was legitimate act of vengeance, says rebel in gruesome video
A Syrian rebel militia leader who filmed cutting the heart and organs out of a regime soldier’s body and putting it in his mouth has defended his actions as legitimate vengeance.
Mutilating the corpse, Khaled al-Hamad, known by the pseudonym Abu Sakkar, handed an instant propaganda victory to the Syrian government, which accused the West of ignoring rebel atrocities.
The video purported to show him cutting the lungs out of a soldier’s corpse before apparently eating a small piece of the organ. “I swear to God we will eat your hearts, Alawite soldiers of Bashar the dog,” he said, referring to supporters of President Bashar al-Assad from the minority Alawite sect.
Speaking to Time magazine, he said he had no regrets about taking revenge – “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” – after finding images of regime abuses on the dead soldier’s mobile phone. (Syrian Truth / Facebook)
Minaret of landmark 12th century mosque destroyed at Syria UNESCO World Heritage site
The minaret of a landmark 12th century mosque in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was destroyed Wednesday, leaving the once-soaring stone tower a pile of rubble and twisted metal scattered in the tiled courtyard.
President Bashar Assad’s regime and anti-government activists traded blame for the destruction to the Umayyad Mosque, which occurred in the heart Aleppo’s walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It was the second time in just over a week that a historic Sunni mosque in Syria has been seriously damaged. Mosques served as a launching pad for anti-government protests in the early days of the country’s 2-year-old uprising, and many have been targeted. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)
Life in ruins — A Syrian man walks from a badly damaged building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 10, 2013. The United States is mulling ways to step up support for the Syrian opposition, a top US official said, as US Secretary of State John Kerry and G8 ministers were to meet rebel leaders. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Obama’s licence to kill worries friends and foes alike
Kelly McParland: The debate rages over the president’s right to order people killed, who can be placed on his ‘kill list’ and who he needs to listen to in making that decision.
‘I will not forget my children’s blood’: Aleppo’s female sniper vows to take her revenge
Her fame has spread throughout Aleppo. Her comrades have nicknamed her Guevara, but to many residents she is known simply as “the female sniper.”
Standing stock still, her finger suspended over the trigger, she stares through the sight of her Dragonov rifle.
Her view framed by the jagged concrete edges of the fist-sized hole cut into the wall of her hideout on one of the most dangerous front lines in Aleppo, Guevara, named after the revolutionary, watches the enemy — government soldiers — moving along the other side of the street.
“I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba [rebel division] has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge,” she says.
A female fighter in Syria’s conservative Muslim society is rare, often considered improper. But she commands the respect of her fellow fighters, about 30 men and boys, some as young as 16. (Narciso Contreras/The Associated Press; Abdullah al-Yassin/The Associated Press)
Analysis: ‘It’s not a war Syria could win’: Israel’s air strike may be a taste of things to come, experts predict
Israel’s air strike in Syria may be a taste of things to come, say security experts. If Israel is considering an air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities it must ensure Hezbollah, an Islamist group in Lebanon and a proxy for Iran, does not get its hands on weapons that could cause the Jewish state problems — like anti-aircraft missiles.
“I would anticipate that this isn’t going to be the first Israeli air strike designed to degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities over the next year,” said Gary Gambill, associate fellow at the Middle East Forum.
“If Israel is considering a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, then Hezbollah’s capacity to retaliate is going to be an important factor.”
Syria, Iran threaten retaliation against Israel after air raid targets convoy near Damascus
Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus.
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali says Damascus has “the option and the surprise to retaliate.” He said he cannot predict when the retaliation will be, saying it is up to relevant authorities to prepare for it.
In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Israeli airstrike hits truck convoy in Syria that may contain weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon
Israel conducted an airstrike inside Syria overnight near the border with Lebanon, hitting a convoy of trucks, U.S. and regional officials said Wednesday.
The regional officials said Israel had been planning in the days leading up to the airstrike to hit a shipment of weapons bound for the Islamist militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. They said the shipment included sophisticated, Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which would be strategically “game-changing” in the hands of Hezbollah.
Gary Clement’s week in review, Dear Abby edition
Political cartoonist Gary Clement takes a look at the week gone by
Apple rejects provocative ‘news game’ focused on Syrian conflict
In a move that has generated criticism within the mobile gaming community, Apple Inc.’s app approval team has rejected Endgame: Syria, a strategy game that focuses on the ongoing conflict in the troubled Arab republic.
Developed by U.K.-based Auroch Digital, the free game is already available on Android devices and can be played in standard PC Web browsers. It’s the project of Tomas Rawlings, a British game maker who sees the medium as a platform for the expression of ideas and a way to make people think about topical issues in new ways.
(Screen grab/Auroch Digital)
It’s the end of…
Gary Clement’s week in review
